ARTS WATCH. Theater review.

Lachman Takes `Family Secrets' Even Higher

December 06, 1996|By Chris Jones. Special to the Tribune.

Last year at the Royal-George Theatre, Sherry Glaser attracted large audiences to "Family Secrets," her one-woman, self-penned deconstruction of a dysfunctional Jewish family that just happened to be like her own. So one has to admire the gumption of Donna Blue Lachman, who is audaciously performing Glaser's singularly personal show.

Happily for Apple Tree audiences, Lachman is a consummate theatrical craftsperson, and her version of "Family Secrets" is, in many ways, much better than Glaser's original performance.

As she morphs before the eyes of the audience from Mort (a middle-age accountant) to Bev (his lithium-popping wife) to Molly (his New Age, pseudo-lesbian daughter) to Sandra (Molly's neurotic sister) to Rose (Mort's quirky, aging mother), Glaser's physical transformations are flashy and cleverly crafted. But Lachman's work is far more honest and less reliant on obvious theatrics.

Building on the intimacy of the Apple Tree space, the hard-working Lachman creates characters with real vulnerabilities, forging a warm story-spinning atmosphere with her appreciative audience (many of whom clearly recognized members of their family--or themselves--on stage). This show (co-written by Glaser's husband, Greg Howells) is fiendishly difficult to do well; Lachman's 90-minute solo is a genuine triumph for the longtime Chicago fringe performer.

Lachman cannot, of course, turn "Family Secrets" into great writing. Unlike characters in superior monologue shows tricked by their creators into revelation, Glaser's one-dimensional family members divulge their innermost secrets too readily, without much dramatic reason for their straight-to-the-audience confessions.

Familial relationships, one could argue, are a collection of cultural cliches, with most of our supposed secrets actually similar to those of the family down the block. But the warm heart of this evening comes mainly from the Chicago actress turning placards into people.